Long before “locavore” entered the nation’s lexicon and farmers’ markets became mainstream, Kamyar Enshayan, director of UNI’s Center for Energy and Environmental Education, began a formalized effort to encourage Iowans to buy fresh foods and buy them locally. UNI’s Buy Fresh Buy Local campaign—now active in 53 Iowa counties—was launched by the university and
Practical Farmers of Iowa. After 10 years, statistics show it’s paying off.
In 2007 alone, nearly $2 million worth of locally produced food was purchased by institutional food buyers in the eight-county region including and surrounding Black Hawk County, more than double the amount purchased in 2006.
“Residents, farmers, restaurant owners, grocers and dining-service staff of a number of area institutions have demonstrated what can happen in a metro area when people are aware of where their food comes from and buy more locally grown foods,” Enshayan said.
UNI’s own Dining Services was one of the first institutions that worked with Enshayan to buy more locally grown food. It more than doubled its purchases of local food last year, spending just over $49,000 in Black Hawk County and surrounding counties and another $642,000 in Iowa products.
“The staff has really taken hold of the local-food concept,” said Gale Carlson, purchasing manager for UNI Dining Services. “They’ve made changes in recipes and menus to add more local products to the meals we serve. Making local purchases improves the economy, we get high-quality food, and it benefits the area families selling the produce. It’s not a tough sell to make these changes.”
The benefits of buying locally grown food go beyond economics. Locally grown fruits and vegetables are usually purchased within 24 hours of harvesting, making them available to eat at the height of freshness and ripeness. Depending on far-away food sources leaves an institution vulnerable to supply disruptions and reduces accountability and relationships between producers and consumers, and produce that travels 15 miles versus 1,500 miles 
requires a lot less fuel and energy.
Recent studies—funded in part by the Leopold Center for Sustainable Agriculture, which has funded much of UNI’s local-food initiative over the last 10 years—show even more potential economic impacts of growing the local-food infrastructure.
“Now it’s time to invest in a local-food infrastructure, such as a distribution network and the light processing of vegetables to add economic vitality to our area while making the region more food-secure,” according to Enshayan.
Iowa State University economist Dave Swenson says that if residents of the eight-county region around Black Hawk County purchased their daily-recommended allowance of fruits and vegetables from area farmers for three months out of the year, it would generate 457 new jobs and $6.3 million in new labor income annually.
Swenson and Minnesota economist Ken Meter also found that a restaurant purchasing from local farms had a larger impact on the local economy than the average restaurant. Rudy’s Tacos, a Waterloo diner and long-time supporter of the local-food movement, purchases 71 percent of the restaurant’s produce from local and regional farms.
“In the past 10 years, north-central Iowa has emerged as a national leader for supporting local farms,” Meter said. “Generating $2 million in local food sales is not easy. Building links among local firms is an effective development strategy.”
To continue its progress as a local-food leader, the UNI Local Food Project recently expanded its scope and broadened its 
leadership to become the Northern Iowa Food and Farm (NIFF) Partnership at UNI. Carlson, who co-chairs the NIFF Partnership with Shane Tiernan of Grundy Center National Bank, believes growth in local-food production begins with education and collaboration between producers and buyers.
“People in our area are more and more interested in the foods they consume,” Carlson said. “Locally grown produce, meat and dairy are only some of what is available within 50 miles of where we live and shop. The NIFF Partnership can be a resource for consumers, growers, buyers, businesses and organizations that have different interests and needs as they explore this exciting part of our local economy.”
UNI Dining Services' local purchases include maple syrup, apples, beef, pork, organic chickens, green peppers, broccoli and pumpkings to name a few. Below is a recipe from UNI Dining Services that uses locally grown cherry tomatoes, zucchini, red peppers and onion. The original version serves about 40, but this recipe is modifies to feed a more modest eight.